Archive for the ‘Make Money Blogging’ Category
Get your frequent readers to click your Google ads
I have spent time talking about the tendency to glaze over Google ads before. We all know what they are, and many of us hate to click on them. The problem is that many bloggers rely on their Google Adsense earnings to keep their site up and running.
If you have a blog with a strong readership base, you may find it extremely difficult to generate Adsense earnings. In addition to people simply not wanting to click on your advertisements, eventually your frequent readers won’t even notice them anymore. It doesn’t matter if you have the best advertisement in the right location with excellent colors, your readers will become accustom to seeing it and they will simply fly right by it.
If you want the best chances of your readers clicking on your Google ads, you need to make them stand out over the long run. In order to do this it will be important to spend some time to change the look of your advertisements. Come up with multiple color palettes to suit your site and implement them.
One week maybe your advertisement has a blue background, and the next week the background is red. Your readers will focus on that area of your blog simply because it is different. If you aren’t getting enough of a boost from different color palettes, you can also try placing your Google ads in alternative locations.
Keep in mind when you create your Google ads you can change the settings to allow for multiple color palettes. Look for the “Use Multiple Color Palettes” checkbox if this is an option you want to take advantage of. This will allow your ads to rotate their colors automatically without any additional effort on your behalf.
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Filed under Blogging Tips, Make Money Blogging
Picking the right colors for your Google ads
Creating the right Google ads to compliment your blog can be a grueling experience. You have to get the right type of ad that will attract the attention of your readers, then you have to pick the right size to accommodate your blog theme, and then you have to pick the right colors. The problem is – how do you know what the right colors are?
The problem with Google ads is that most people know exactly what they are. In many cases, your readers will ignore your ads altogether and your earnings will suffer. Using the right color palette for your ads can improve the chances that your readers will notice and click on them.
Before you decide which colors to use it is important to understand where your advertisements will be placed. If you know exactly where the ads will go you can better understand how to attract the attention of your visitors.
The first strategy that you may want to consider implementing is called blending. This means that you choose a color palette that allows seamless integration between your ads and your blog theme. Make the background, text, and hyperlinks the same color as the rest of your blog theme.
Another technique to experiment is called complementing. This simply means that you don’t use the same colors that make up your blog theme, but you select colors that will compliment them instead. If you have a blog theme that consists of pastel pink, blue, and yellow try adding an advertisement with a background that is pastel green!
The last technique to consider is called contrasting. If you have a blog theme that has a dark background, this technique may work well for you. With this technique, you will want to pick a background for your ad that creates a noticeable contrast. A white advertisement on a black background is sure to grab attention.
Filed under Blogging Tips, Make Money Blogging
Best place to put Google Ads
If you are currently using Google Adsense to display advertisements on your blog, you may find yourself wondering about ad placement. Where is the best place to put your Google ads in order to generate the highest earnings? There is actually no easy answer to this question because every blog is slightly different from the next. The good news is there are certain guidelines that everyone can use to maximize their Adsense earnings.
Before deciding on the best ad placement location, there are a few questions that you should ask yourself. The first, and perhaps most important, is how do your readers use your site? Do they seem to focus their attention in a specific area on your site?
The next thing you need to think about is clutter. While you want your Google ads to be seen and clicked on, you don’t want to interfere with the user’s experience. You don’t want to stick your ads in random locations that might negatively affect the overall feeling of your blog.
The way you place advertisements on your blog is sort of similar to that of a newspaper. A newspaper is typically folded in half. The top half of the newspaper is known as “above the fold.” This portion of the newspaper is generally where you’ll find the biggest stories because that is where are focus typically falls. You can create this imaginary “fold” in your blog. Advertisements placed above the fold typically perform better than the ones below.
There is an exception to this rule, and it just might make a difference in your earnings. If you post a lot of content on your blog you may be benefited by a Google Ad that is placed at the bottom of each of your posts. A reader might skip an ad at the top of the post because they want to get right to the content. However, once they have finished reading your post an interesting Google ad directly following it might be too tempting to resist!
Filed under Blogging Tips, Make Money Blogging
Pay attention to Google Adsense optimization notifications
Did you know that Google Adsense will actually alert you if you are not fully taking advantage of their services? It’s true! These alerts are called optimization notifications. Once a month Adsense will send you one of these notifications if it has determined there are things you can do to increase your earnings.
Adsense has created a system that actually analysis certain aspects of your account. This includes everything from your referral settings to the actual ads that display on your sites. This process is completely automatic and you don’t have to do anything to enable to the optimization notifications.
So if you happen to see an optimization notification in your account – take the time to read it. What ever suggestions it might contain you should consider implementing them on your sites. Who knows, you might just see a dramatic increase in your earnings! Who doesn’t want that?
If you happen to receive an optimization notification don’t let it discourage you. It takes a while to successfully configure each of the different channels that are available to you. Take content advertisements for example – there are different types that you can display on your site. You can change the color of these ads and even their shapes.
Every time you make a change to your Adsense settings make sure you spend some time monitoring the relevant reports. It is essential that you understand how your changes are affecting your earnings. If you make a change and notice your earnings drop, you can easily reverse the change and try something new.
Do you click on Google Ads?
I was recently reading an interesting article about Adsense earnings and why they fluctuate so much. While I have already talked about Google’s explanation of the fluctuation, this article mentioned that it could have something to do with your readers and not Google’s targeting system.
Once upon a time when blogging was new and Google Adsense was first getting off the ground, it was not as common to see advertisements littering every page we came across on the internet. Today I feel like it’s almost rare to find a blog that does not have at least one Google ad strategically placed somewhere just waiting for us to click on it.
With Google ads so popular today, the article I stumbled on suggested that our readers are simply ignoring the ads altogether. That forced me to stop and think about my own browsing habits. How frequently do I click on ads?
The answer was actually a bit of a surprise. I rarely click on Google ads. I don’t even think it has anything to do with how common they are. Occasionally I just might see an ad that captures my attention, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to click on it. For the most part, I just open up a new tab on my browser and visit the site directly. I have no idea why this is, but I rarely click on the Google ad intentionally.
What I am definitely guilty of is accidentally clicking on a Google ad. This is always really annoying because I have to take the time to close the ad and navigate back to where I was before. Chances are I’ll get side tracked and move on to something else in the process.
So I have to ask, do you click on Google ads?
Filed under Make Money Blogging
Diversify your monetizing strategies for your blog
If you are attempting to earn some extra money through your blog, it is extremely important to diversify. Many bloggers immediately place Google ads in strategic locations on their site and then wait for a lucky reader to click on them. Over time, you may notice that your Google Adsense account begins to grow and you are fast on your way to that first $100 payout.
I just recently talked about the fluctuation of Adsense earnings. Most bloggers have noticed swings (both up and down) in their account and can testify that this is a real phenomenon. If you are dependent on the revenues you receive from your blog, you probably don’t want to rely on Adsense for this very reason.
I’m not going to lie to you. Google Adsense is one of the easiest and best paying methods to earn money blogging. Luckily it is not the only way to earn money blogging either!
If you are lucky enough to live in a state that is not affected by the “Amazon Tax,” I highly recommend you sign up for the Amazon affiliate program and find a way to successfully implement this into your blog. This is one alternative that will help you earn some extra money.
A lot of bloggers avoid context links because they feel it takes away from their site and their readers might find them annoying. I feel like so many popular sites have implemented context links that they almost seem normal to me. For this very reason I have no issues with adding them to a blog.
Filed under Blogging Tips, Make Money Blogging
